A Different Day

Preparing for varnishing

Keel weight fairing

Instead of boat building all day, I helped my daughter remove ‘Ladybird’s’ winter cover and varnish her exterior wooden parts, namely her coaming, seats and handrails. An advantage of a small sailing cruiser is that maintaining her need not be an arduous task. All that remains to be done before she will be launched is the antifouling which is the worst job. I can’t say I enjoy lying on my back under a boat applying antifouling with a roller, but that’s better than a brush. Getting an even coating on the surface of the hull is more easily done with a roller – quicker too, than applying paint with a brush, but keeping the stuff off spectacles, face and hair is nigh impossible.


Well, the tasks of taking the cover off the boat and doing the varnishing occupied us for the morning. Before returning home in the afternoon, after having a picnic lunch while sitting on the sea wall, I sawed off a rusty shackle that was attached to the anchor. This had left a small stain on the foredeck where the anchor was customarily stowed for instant use. Rust stains are particularly stubborn when it comes to removing them from gelcoat.


Back at home I filed and sanded epoxy putty that I had applied to the keel weights the day before, and I also faired the other sides with epoxy putty. Tomorrow when it has hardened, I’ll be able to complete the fairing.